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| Conventional Long Form: | Oriental Republic of Uruguay |
| Conventional Short Form: | Uruguay |
| Location: | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil |
| Capital City: | Montevideo |
| Government Type: | Constitutional Republic |
| Population: | 3,360,105 (July 2001 est.) |
| Area [sq.km]: | 176,220 (slightly smaller than the state of Washington) |
| Currency: | Uruguayan peso (UYU) |
| Languages: | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) |
| National Holiday: | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) |
| Background: | A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement, the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to agree to military control of his administration in 1973. By the end of the year the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold throughout the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent. |
